Archive

Significant changes mean clients should be
proactive to mitigate risk

For many years, Canada has been something of an outsider on the global stage when it came to applying for and securing trademarks. Well, that’s about to change in a big way as the federal government rolls out its new Trademark Act which will include the adoption of the Madrid Protocol, the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Classification System, among other updates.

Even though the new legislation isn’t set to go into effect until 2019, companies shouldn’t wait until the last minute to prepare themselves. And while some changes may be welcome, others are already ruffling feathers.

Why more rights holders should be submitting
Request for Assistance forms to Canadian customs

The Canadian government joined many of its counterparts around the world when it introduced a program at the beginning of 2015 to limit the transport of counterfeit goods in and out of Canada.

The Combating Counterfeit Products initiative allows the Canada Border Services Agency to flag and temporarily seize goods that it deems suspect and then notify the rights holder. All Canadian rights holders need to do is ensure that their trademark is registered with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and then submit a Request for Assistance application to customs, free of charge.

New appointments show prominence of Canada within the Firm's global EMI initiatives

Baker McKenzie’s Energy, Mining & Infrastructure Group continues to establish itself across multiple regions world-wide, and there will now be an increased Canadian voice guiding the way as two partners from our Toronto office have been named to leadership roles within the group.

In September, Greg McNab was named the Firm’s Global Head of Mining while Maxine Ethier was named Global Head of Infrastructure.